sergek26

ITA about the White Lady. I found her 'role' in Acts I and II especially fascinating and a huge part in making this ballet understandable, unlike anything else concocted in the 20th C. Here's my theory why the Soviet Kirov banished the White Lady: Religion, plain and simple. She was a metaphor for Christianity (a Madonna-like symbol); all religious allusions were banished in the USSR (like the Royal Danish Ballet now?). Same reason why Raymonda no longer plunged Jean's sword into the ground to form a cross. Same reason why the crosses on Jean's knights vanish from costumes in the Kirov production. On and on and on. Atheists and PC-afficionados are likely among the folks who would hate this production.

I've PM'ed you on "something relevant."

You're partly right though White Lady was first banned in one of the Bolshoi revivals in the beginning of 1930s. But in 1890s such figures in ballets were a kind of cliche and later, in 1920-1930s the mystic was banned almost everywhere in Europe theatre performances without any government instructions so, Prince Hamlet spoke with his sick mind but not with the spirit of his father and Banco was showed as simple hallucination of Macbeth. On the other side Petipa's production was in Kirov's repertory in the same sets and costumes until almost 1938. In 1948, UK critics were completely satisfied with Lavrovsky's 1945 Moscow staging (see The Rose and the Star by Phyllis Winifred Manchester and Iris Morley) and it was stated that Raymonda is a kind of productions which are too close related to their born-place and it is senseless to stage it anywhere else. Given that it was not of the great importance to maintain the mystic than choreography most part of which survived due to Lopukhov, Lavrovsky and Sergeyev. You know that Petipa spoiled his 1869 Moscow Don Quichotte restaging it in 1871 for St.Petersburg but that was the only way to maintain this production in repertory which thirty years later got another life.

A warm welcome to ballettalk sergek26.

Thank you for posting these examples. I was most interesting to see your realisations and especially found the Swan Lake variation extremely curious and fascinating.

I was first introduced to. "Two essays on Stepanov Dance Notation" by Alexander Gorsky in a translation made more than thirty years ago by Wiley and published by CORD.

Thank you for good words. I understand that it's "work in progress" and hope to improve it.

Did you study "Two essays..." as a dancer or a scholar?

The Swan Lake excerpt certainly has a familiar feel. May I ask what animation software you're using?

DanceForms, clone of LifeForms, by CredoInteractive. It is brilliant dance notator Rhonda Ryman who develops it (this information is also provided on youtube together with both animations).

Photos from some of his productions (didn't he do a Giselle all in costumes that were naturalistic and made it look almost like Martha Graham?), are amazing. I get why Petipa was so put off by his stuff, but I admit, as huge a Petipa fan as I am, I'd love to be able to see some of his reinterpretations. I gather that a good deal of the Don Quixote productions we see come from Gorsky's revised version, as well as some of the Swan stuff in the Soviet era Swan Lakes? Is there any word on what of his work will be done by the Bolshoi for his anniversary?

Oh, yes, it was Gorsky who revised Giselle in pure mime style and you gave me idea to translate the description of this staging made by Vera Karalli. As for Don Quichotte the Bolshoi dancer and teacher Anatoly Kuznetsov wrote in one of his article comparing Gorsky and Petipa that "Now (in 1960s), Don Quichotte is the staging of the whole Moscow company but it was developed on the principles of Gorsky". Some of the Gorsky's ideas on Swan Lake was actually used by choreographers in Soviet era, f.e. jester which is so hated by ballet critics in the West. Gorsky liked to do such things to animate abstract classical compositions by mime and make it more real and playful. Also, Gorsky was the first choreographer ever created symphonic ballet – to Glazounov’s Fifth Symphony in 1916.

The site of Bolshoi was upgraded to the opening of historical stage and old links doesn't work now. Of course, it is pity that none of the works will be revived to 140th Anniversary because Don Quichotte is still in repertory, another titles as Swan Lake, Coppelia and La Fille Mal Gardee made by other choreographers are also in repertory and cannot be substituted and there is delusion shared even by fans of Moscow dance school that a little of his original works was survived. On the other side Bolshoi has restored the memorial table (plaque?) on the building of New Stage, devoted one of the Quichottes performances to Gorsky, re-opened museum exhibition on Gorsky and supported some researches, f.e. new book of Elizabeth Souritz which includes chapters on Gorsky's first stagings in Moscow and presentation on Gorsky on EADH conference in London.

The date of he photo is Jun 26, 1949---well before their October arrival at the Met.

But it's just a week before Jul 3, 1949 when full announcement on Saddlers Wells U.S. tour (with repertory) was published in NYT and other major U.S. newspapers.

It seems that photo was provided by Saddlers Wells or tour impresario or photo agency so it is quite natural (though really funny) that "the newspaper preparing the photo for publication knew that Ashton created the choreography but not that he was captured in the photo". in 1949, a few people in U.S. newspapers saw Ashton's Cinderalla and knew that he is also a dancer. By the way photo editors all over the world do not always see the difference between various Swan Lakes as well as writings on the back side of the photos are not always correct and made at the same time.

If you haven't already seen Helene's report on the recent PNB lec-dem on changes pre and post Petipa, you might want to take a look

here

Doug Fullington did a stellar job of collecting and framing examples of reconstructions from old notation scores of Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, and comparing them to contemporary productions of those works. The evening was very illuminating, but my particular favorite was the side-by-side Princess Florine example, with Sarah Ricard Orza and Rachel Foster performing the woman's solo from the Bluebird pas de deux, Orza dancing the original choreography and Foster dancing the Ronald Hynd/English National Ballet staging. The thing that was the most thrilling, as Helene points out, is that both versions are theatrically satisfying, and I think her observation is an important one for the conversation here. The older versions of these foundational works are not only museum pieces, they are legitimate theater.

It is good news that Gorsky's choreography is interesting not only to those who live in Moscow.

I would like to show for comparison my variant of the same Swan Lake male variation composed by Gorsky which is being prepared for future Moscow presentation on Gorky because 2011 marks the 140th anniversary of his birth.

I've also animated the exercises from his manual on Stepanov, f.e.

sergek26